Posted on by markusoreallyus · 1 Comment

Odds & sods

Strange days in politics…. I mean even more than usual.

In the U.S., Donal Trump talked mostly about himself in relation to Black History Month, with a nod to the little known up & comer Frederick Douglass (oh, my!), apparently unaware of the 19th Century abolitionist and friend of Abraham Lincoln. Turns out the Donald threatened the President of Mexico with invasion and told off the Prime Minister of Australia before hanging up on him. I don’t think this bodes well for the upcoming visit with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

Speaking of whom, here in Canada our Prime Minister has abandoned his election promise to reform the electoral system his party subsequently benefited from to one that better reflects the popular vote. I guess when you go from third place to first, your perspective changes. Funny, that. I’d be more disapppointed if I’d fallen for the lie.

Add that to his ‘betrayals’ (utterly predictable though they might have been) of the progressive voters who abandoned the NDP for the Liberals in the last election, such as on oil pipelines, greenhouse gas emissions targets, pulling out of combat in Syria, and so on. Add all of that to his cash for access fundraisers, holidays with religious leaders whose charitable foundations get millions of federal dollars….

For those Bernie-loving Americans who think our Liberal Prime Minister is some kind of progressive poster boy, think again. He and his party are just as inextricably linked to big business as any establishment politicians in the U.S.

****

Still too cold, in my opinion, to be out and about on two wheels. I just don’t like frost and ice. I can’t wait for the overnight low temperature to get up to 3C again!

****

Reading Guitar Zero (which could be my new nickname) by Gary Marcus. It’s a fascinating book, even if you’re not trying to learn to play an instrument. (And reassuring if you are. It’s not so much that you’re talentless as that this really is difficult! Eventually, with enough practice, you’ll get better at it. Probably.) It looks at how learning a musical instrument rewires the brain, even later in life. Well written, well researched. If you’re interested in neuropsychology or music, or language for that matter, I recommend it.

****

Cat is being high maintenance, so that’s all for now.

Posted on by markusoreallyus · 1 Comment

History, freedom, persecution and religion

I am simultaneously saddened and outraged by the shootings in Quebec last night. Whatever the specific motivations of the shooter(s), it seems clear from the fact it occurred in a mosque during evening prayers that the victims had been targeted for their religion.

I have said before I am not a religious man, but I do respect the religious beliefs of others, at least to the extent that they don’t conflict with human or civil rights. In a democratic society people should not be persecuted for their religious beliefs, or for not having any.

Even before the shootings at the mosque in Quebec, Muslims in many western countries have been looked at with suspicion just because a very few have committed crimes against non-believers. This has taken the form of xenophobic graffiti, name-calling and assaults, proposed bans of religious articles of clothing, like hijabs and niqabs, and even the words and actions of the current President of the United States.

No religion should consider itself immune from criticism. Saying a prejudice against gays or women is mandated by religious belief, for example, does not excuse it. Religions exist in a social context, and must adapt themselves to historical changes just like everyone else.

At the same time, discriminating against all members of a particular religion based on the actions of a handful of adherents is equally inexcusable. No one, of any race, religion or sect, should have to fear for their rights or security on such grounds. People should instead be judged on their words and actions.

On those grounds, I submit that people like the Quebec shooter(s), the President of the United States, and the fanatics in terrorist organizations of every stripe, from ISIS to the Klan, will ultimately face very harsh historical judgments.

Posted on by markusoreallyus

Science, technology & authority 

There was an excellent article today in The Guardian about Canadian scientists helping their American counterparts get their findings in front of the public, something the Trump administration clearly fears. It’s not clear why it fears this, since the public clearly views facts with suspicion, while eagerly accepting lies. But fear it it does, and as a result it has been shutting down programs, websites and twitter accounts since it assumed power – and this is just week one!

This is common among governments with an authoritarian bent. It happened here in Canada under our previous government. We weren’t the first and clearly won’t be the last.

People often wonder how these governments can be against science, without which – they say – we wouldn’t have TVs, the internet, nuclear power (not to mention weapons), and so forth. It’s a dubious argument, because it conflates science with technology. Authority tends to like the latter and fear the former. The same might be said for the majority of the public, for that matter. After all, technology is fun to play with, while much of science tends to be hard to understand.

I hope the scientific community persevere. I expect they will. Authority always ends. Knowledge continues. Maybe that’s what they dislike about it.

Posted on by markusoreallyus · 2 Comments

What time is it?

I’ll keep this brief, since it seems we may not have a whole lot of time.

The group of nuclear scientists in charge of the Doomsday Clock have moved it forward. We’re now at 2 1/2 minutes to midnight – the closest we’ve been to nuclear annihilation, in the estimation of this group, in decades. Guess who you have to thank for that? (Hint, look for the Day-Glo orange emanating from him.)

Soon, we’ll have children huddling again under their desks, being told what to do on the off chance they survive the initial blast and subsequent shockwave. And those annoying Emergency Broadcast System interruptions – this is a test… if this were not a test, you’d only have two minutes to say goodbye to whomever you can. Just like in the good old day when America was ‘great’!

Add to this the wall – that America will pay for – and the soon-to-be-announced Muslim ban & registry. And the resumption of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ (better known as torture). And looking the other way while Russia prepares to take back former Soviet republics in the Baltics and elsewhere. And poking China with a stick at every opportunity. Backing out of international agreements like the Paris Accord.

It’s starting to look like I might not need a retirement plan after all.

And this barely scrapes the surface of political stupidity occurring south of the 49th parallel.

I honestly don’t think the right wing morons who run the United States understand just how this might all blow back on them. If they do, they obviously don’t care. That’s an even more frightening though, if you allow yourself to think it: they know this will not end well, but don’t care. Short term gain uber alles.

If there was a god, I’d ask him or her to help us all.

Posted on by markusoreallyus

Random thoughts

Has Frito Lay considered suing Trump for infringing their intellectual property? Surely the makers of Cheetos has trademarked that shade of orange.

***

I find the best music to listen to while running is from the late 70s/early 80s. XTC, The Police, Devo, Talking Heads, Prince, Peter Gabriel, or some harder rock, like Motörhead, Judas Priest and even Rush. Hard rock of an era is best when lifting weights. Metallica, RATM, Iron Maiden. I love prog rock, but there are too many time changes to make it useful for workouts.

***

Some potential theme songs for the resistance movement in the Fractured States of Trumpistan:

The Police – Rehumanize Yourself
Rush – Between the Wheels
Living Colour – Cult of Personality
Ice T & Jello Biafra – Shut Up, Be Happy
Babes In Toyland – Swamp Pussy
Public Enemy – Fight the Power
(Yes, these do show my age.)

***

Would it count as cruelty if you chloroformed your cat? Asking for a friend. Seriously, though, wouldn’t self defence be a reasonable argument?

Posted on by markusoreallyus

Playing the Trump card

Many years ago, an American rabbi published what would become a self-help bestseller called When Bad Things Happen to Good People. The book was intended to help people get past unfortunate events in their lives, and not become defined by those events. Right now, I think what is needed is a book called When Good People Do Bad Things. The purpose of this book would be to explain how ordinarily good people brought themselves to vote for Donald Trump.

The inauguration of that lumpen orange narcissist is only a little over a week away. All over the world (with the possible exception of Russia), people are asking how this could happen. How could any sane, halfway moral person justify to himorherself the notion of ‘President Trump.’

Now, I will grant you, Hillary was hardly the best choice of candidate for the democrats, or any other party for that matter. I would much rather have seen Bernie or Biden, myself. Or any number of women. Gender is not the reason I didn’t particularly like Hillary. Neither were emails or Benghazi, or any of the muck the republicans tried to throw at her. I didn’t like Bill that much, either, although it had nothing to do with Monica, and everything to do with economic policy. And it was, again, economics, and the sense that both the DNC and Hillary herself thought ‘it was her turn’, that made me prefer other options to the former Secretary of State.

Having said that, I would have preferred the election of nearly anyone – even the return of George W. Bush, never mind little Jeb – to the smirking misogynist about to occupy the Oval Office. (And I definitely would have preferred Hillary to either Bush.) The only person in the running who may have been as unfit for office as Trump was Ted Cruz, thankfully now a political has-been.

So how did they do it? Ordinary middle Americans. Salt of the earth types. Church and BBQ types. People who I wouldn’t have expected to cros the street to spit on a New York billionaire. How did they bring themselves to vote for such a creep? Such an obviously crazy, frequently bankrupt, don’t leave him alone with your daughter or your savings account creep.

A lot of people say it was racism, and I don’t doubt there was some of that. Too many confederate flags at Trump rallies, too many swastikas painted on walls since the election, to think otherwise. But I don’t think racism could possibly have motivated that many voters.

Some others say it was about economics. Not that anyone, including Trump voters, believe he has an economic plan at all, never mind a good one. But that the economy that has been foisted on Americans, and that has taken their jobs, their homes and, worse, their dignity over the past 37 years, if not longer, had finally made them stand up and say, ‘no more.’ There may be something to that.

The so-called ‘left’ in America bailed out banks while they foreclosed on families. They bragged about economic recovery, even as the divide between rich and poor grew, and careers you could support a family with were replace with jobs with low pay and no security. Or with no jobs at all.

Anyway, I look forward to an explanation that isn’t too easy, or too comfortable for those who lost. I hope America – and France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Britain, too – gets its act together before it’s too late.